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Columbus first-rounder Marko Dano provides an encouraging yardstick for Edmonton Oilers prospect Bogdan Yakimovhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/09/04/columbus-first-rounder-marko-dano-provides-an-encouraging-yardstick-for-edmonton-oilers-prospect-bogdan-yakimov/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/09/04/columbus-first-rounder-marko-dano-provides-an-encouraging-yardstick-for-edmonton-oilers-prospect-bogdan-yakimov/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2014 10:00:07 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=206430One of the most intriguing storylines to watch in Oklahoma City in 2014-15 will be the transition of Bogdan Yakimov to the AHL and North American hockey after a year in the KHL where he received minimal use but managed …]]>One of the most intriguing storylines to watch in Oklahoma City in 2014-15 will be the transition of Bogdan Yakimov to the AHL and North American hockey after a year in the KHL where he received minimal use but managed to do some impressive things all the same.

An interesting point of comparison for Yakimov is another player who found himself in a similar situation: Marko Dano, the 19-year-old winger who was selected by the Blue Jackets 56 spots before Yakimov was picked by the Edmonton at the 2013 Draft. Like Yakimov, Dano spent the majority of last season in the KHL, and like Yakimov he didn’t get a lot of ice time in a league notorious for passing over youth. The two are practically the same age, too, with Yakimov born in early October and Dano late November of 1994.

Unlike Yakimov, however, Dano finished his year in the AHL, playing 15 games for the Springfield Falcons. Before we get to his performance there, let’s see how the two did in their respective 2013-14 seasons in the KHL:

The numbers can be misleading at times – particularly since the ice time we have isn’t split by even-strength or special teams data – but the overall picture painted here is of a significantly better season by Yakimov. The Oilers’ draft pick exceeded Dano in every offensive category, and after adjusting for ice time generated significantly more in terms of both points and shots.

That’s a very good sign, not just because Dano was a first round pick, but also because Dano was pretty successful in his North American debut.

In 15 games over the regular season and playoffs, Dano posted a respectable eight points and 32 shots. Those aren’t mind-blowing numbers, but they’re pretty good for any 19-year-old kid in the American League, and especially so for one still getting the hang of hockey in a smaller rink.

“It was different,” Dano told MassLive.com’s Dan Hickling. “The ice was smaller and everything was faster [at the AHL level]. Because all the guys were closer to reaching their dreams in the NHL, there was more motivation. The style was different than in the KHL. I tried to do my best, and I think I played pretty well. It was a good time for me.”

But if Dano could adjust so successfully in a late-season cameo, how well will Yakimov do? By the numbers he had a vastly superior KHL season, and eh will have the further advantage of a full training camp under his belt before playing for the Barons. It’s an extremely interesting question, and the answer may well surpass the modest expectations of most.

There’s certainly no shortage of opportunity for the young Russian. OKC’s centre depth – tweener Will Acton, journeyman Jason Williams, rookie pro Jujhar Khaira and fourth-line Travis Ewanyk – is okay but hardly an insurmountable obstacle. The parent team too has (well-documented) question marks down the middle, and a strong start with the Barons could put Yakimov in an extremely good position.

Naturally, there isn’t any sense in projecting too far ahead here. Dano’s relative success may not be indicative of what will happen to Yakimov, and the KHL numbers may not accurately reflect the differences in these players’ respective games at that level (i.e. the gap between them may be smaller than it looks). But Yakimov’s a player with intriguing upside, and he’s playing for a team that – as Bruce McCurdy noted in his excellent profile of the player – could use a guy at centre with his unique talents. It’s something to watch going forward.

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/09/04/columbus-first-rounder-marko-dano-provides-an-encouraging-yardstick-for-edmonton-oilers-prospect-bogdan-yakimov/feed/02012 Subway Super Seriesjonwillis63Dano Yakimov 9.3.14The Edmonton Oilers’ rookie head coach sounds completely ready for the job aheadRetired Edmonton Oilers goalie jailed for sexual misconduct with 13-year-oldhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/09/02/retired-edmonton-oilers-goalie-jailed-for-sexual-misconduct-with-13-year-old/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/09/02/retired-edmonton-oilers-goalie-jailed-for-sexual-misconduct-with-13-year-old/#commentsTue, 02 Sep 2014 18:46:03 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=206328The man who had a brief but memorable career between the pipes for the Edmonton Oilers will spend the next two month in prison as a result of sexting with a 13-year-old girl.

]]>The man who had a brief but memorable career between the pipes for the Edmonton Oilers will spend the next two month in prison as a result of sexting with a 13-year-old girl.

The Bangor Daily News(h/t Puck Daddy) reports that Mike Minard pleaded no contest to a charge of sexual misconduct after sending and requesting sexually explicit content and asking the girl and one of her friends to meet him at a hotel. According to a police report quoted by the paper, Minard was “very cooperative” with the detective sent to investigate.

It’s the kind of charge that leaves a black mark on anyone, no matter how distinguished his history.

Minard, who was a fourth round pick of Edmonton back in 1995, didn’t have much of an NHL career but he was always an easy guy to cheer for. He’s the only player in AHL history to twice win the league’s Yanick Dupre award, which is given for exemplary community service; it’s particularly remarkable that he did so in the span of two years in two different cities. It would be easy to understand a well-traveled journeyman (Minard played for 17 different clubs in a span of 12 years between draft day and retirement) having difficulty meshing with his community; Minard was clearly willing to make the effort even in places where he didn’t play for very long.

His lone NHL game was memorable, too; it was the final regular season contest of 1999-2000. Edmonton had clinched a playoff spot and opted to rest starter Tommy Salo, but postseason position was still on the line. More notably, it was a game against the Calgary Flames, and it just happened to be the final tilt of Oilers’ legend Grant Fuhr’s illustrious career. I remember Minard playing brilliantly and Fuhr playing poorly, and the numbers seem to confirm that – Minard made 33 saves on 36 shots, while Fuhr was pulled after allowing two goals on seven shots (replacement Fred Brathwaite, another ex-Oiler, allowed three more). I can’t find confirmation online, but I also seem to remember Fuhr signing a stick and sending it over to Minard, who at that point was a promising 23-year-old.

Minard’s first game was also his last, as he eventually played his way out of the Oilers plans. His career lasted most of another decade, featuring stops in the ECHL, CHL and Ireland. He landed a coaching job with the AHL’s Portland Pirates a few years later, mentoring young goalies in the Arizona Coyotes organization. It’s the job he had when he began his abhorrent relationship with the 13-year-old, a job that he lost the day after a detective showed up at a Pirates practice to interview him.

Likely, it’s a crime that will end his career as a coach; who would hire a guy with that mark on his resume to teach young people the game? It also sullies the memory of a professional career where Minard obviously did a lot of good things. More importantly, it’s an incident that will have lasting repercussions for the young hockey fan who made the mistake of communicating with the wrong person and then being led astray.

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/09/02/retired-edmonton-oilers-goalie-jailed-for-sexual-misconduct-with-13-year-old/feed/0Minardjonwillis63The Edmonton Oilers’ rookie head coach sounds completely ready for the job aheadBarry Trotz ready for next NHL coaching challengehttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/21/barry-trotz-ready-for-next-nhl-coaching-challenge/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/21/barry-trotz-ready-for-next-nhl-coaching-challenge/#commentsMon, 21 Apr 2014 06:01:12 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=198217One of the first guys to call Barry Trotz got when the Nashville Predators let him go as coach last week was John Tortorella, which considering Torts’s shaky ground as the bench boss in Vancouver, speaks volumes.

Trotz’s name has …

]]>One of the first guys to call Barry Trotz got when the Nashville Predators let him go as coach last week was John Tortorella, which considering Torts’s shaky ground as the bench boss in Vancouver, speaks volumes.

Trotz’s name has certainly been floated there if they decide to make a coaching change.

“Torts has a fiery reputation,” Trotz said, “but he’s a good man.”

Trotz, the one and only coach of the Predators who coached 1,196 games in Nashville before he and GM David Poile decided to end the marriage, has found out who his friends are.

The Dauphin, Man., native has got lots. He’s received more than 400 text messages and 100 phone calls since the Predators let him go.

Nobody had a bad word to say about him in Nashville; it was just time to move on, decided from both sides.

“I think I could run for mayor (Nashville),” Trotz, 51, said jokingly of the positive vibe there.

Trotz, who could be doing some colour commentary during the playoffs for TSN or Hockey Night in Canada this spring, wants to get back on the coaching horse. Trotz, Lindy Ruff and Toe Blake are the only coaches in NHL history to win 500 games while coaching just one team.

This is the first time he’s been out of work as a coach in almost 25 years, going back to when he was an assistant coach of the American Hockey League’s Baltimore Skipjacks in 1991, then the Washington Capitals farm team (the franchise moved to Portland, Me., two years later.)

He’s done other things since starting as an assistant to the late Wayne Fleming at the University of Manitoba in 1984. He was chief Western scout for the Capitals for three years, bringing the Caps goalies Olie Kolzig and Byron Dafoe. But he’s a coach at heart and he’s one of the best.

Trotz is well aware of the fragility of NHL coaches. More than 170 NHL coaches came and went from the time Trotz was hired and his contract not extended for a 16th season in Nashville.

“I could see David (Poile) was struggling … you have to make the playoffs in a non-traditional market. As a coach, you get your spidey senses. There were some tells, so I called David up and we had a talk. David? He gave a young guy (who’d never been an NHL coach, even as an assistant) a chance,” Trotz said.

“I’m not burned out. I’ve got balance in my life with my family. My wife’s a rock. When my son (Nolan, a special-needs boy) was born, I looked at life a lot differently. I’m still competitive, for sure. My wife says I have to let the kids win once in a while,” he said with a laugh.

“But I’m ready to go on to the next challenge. I’ve got lots of juice.”

The Predators been one of the NHL’s success stories, in large part because of Trotz and Poile.

“Lots of people said it would never make it in Nashville because it was a non-traditional hockey market,” Trotz said. “But the Predators are part of the fabric of the city now.“

Possible destinations for Trotz include the Canucks, the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Carolina Hurricanes, the Florida Panthers, maybe even Minnesota if the Wild go out in the first round. That team’s owner, Craig Leipold, used to be the Predators’ owner.

Going from small market Nashville to perhaps a much bigger one such as Vancouver or Toronto wouldn’t bother Trotz.

“If you’d asked me that question 10 years ago, I’d have said I wasn’t ready. But we were in the playoffs in Nashville, there was of lot of media around,” he said.

But working in Canada, maybe?

“It would be a lot different, more intense,” Trotz said. “But I’m not scared of anything.”

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/21/barry-trotz-ready-for-next-nhl-coaching-challenge/feed/0Barry TrotznhlbymattyShort shifts: If McPhee’s done as GM in Washington, could Calgary be next destination?http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/13/short-shifts-if-mcphees-done-as-gm-in-washington-could-calgary-be-next-destination/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/13/short-shifts-if-mcphees-done-as-gm-in-washington-could-calgary-be-next-destination/#commentsMon, 14 Apr 2014 02:00:28 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=197778- If Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonis fires general manager George McPhee after 17 years at the same store-counter, what are the chances Calgary Flames team president Brian Burke hires him? Burke ironically replaced McPhee as director of hockey operations …]]>- If Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonis fires general manager George McPhee after 17 years at the same store-counter, what are the chances Calgary Flames team president Brian Burke hires him? Burke ironically replaced McPhee as director of hockey operations for the Vancouver Canucks in 1987 when McPhee got the Caps’ GM gig and they’ve been longtime GM contemporaries. McPhee, lest we forget, won the Hobey Baker Award in 1982 (Bowling Green University). He and former Edmonton Oilers centre Ray Cote were the first players to ever score three goals in a playoff game without ever playing an NHL regular-season game. McPhee with the Rangers.

– Jeff Blashill is the hottest coaching item outside the NHL for his work in with the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins, but don’t expect the Red Wings to grant permission to other NHL teams with job openings quite yet. Detroit head man Mike Babcock has one year left on his contract, and they want to get him tied up first, but if Babcock’s price tag’s, say, too rich, they need a fallback. The Wings conceivably would move Blashill up to take Babcock’s spot. Blashill worked one year on Babcock’s staff.

– Dustin Penner has barely played (12 minutes a night) since he was acquired by the Capitals and has one goal in 17 games. Adam Oates isn’t a fan. Penner has his two Cup rings, and he’s made $27.5 million in his NHL career, but how good would Penner have been if he had a dollop of fellow LW Ryan Smyth’s passion for the game?

– If I was a betting man, I’d say Cam Ward will be the starting goalie for the New York Islanders next year, with the Carolina Hurricanes going with Anton Khudobin. The Isles could certainly move forward Josh Bailey and a young defenceman.
Since we’ve been dumping on Alex Ovechkin and Nail Yakupov for their awful plus/minuses, let us consider Alex Edler, who is somehow minus-38 in 62 games for the Vancouver Canucks. This is a $5-million player.

– Antti Niemi has had a very average year in San Jose (2.40 goals-against average, .912 save percentage). They’ll start him against the Kings, but he’ll be on a short leash. They will not hesitate to throw backup Alex Stalock in there (.929 save percentage, 1.91 avg. in 23 games).

– What’s with all the new hires of hockey operations presidents? Trevor Linden in Vancouver, Brendan Shanahan in Toronto. “To me, it’s a level of security for the owners on decision making … they don’t want to be talking to the general manager every day about why, say, Alex Burrows isn’t playing with the twins in Vancouver,” said one longtime NHL executive. Big-money decisions can run from the prez to the owner, too. “I think you might see 10 to 12 of these hires now, the richer teams.” Linden and Shanahan are smart guys but very green when it comes to running an entire hockey operation.

– Ben Bishop (wrist) should be ready for the first Tampa Bay Lightning-Montreal Canadiens playoff game, but if the Phoenix Coyotes had made it as a Western wild-card, their goalie Mike Smith would have been iffy. He’s got a sprained knee and had been wearing a brace when practicing. Some goalmouth movements would have been problematic. Phoenix missed out because they couldn’t score, though; the injury to centre Martin Hanzal really hurt too. Expect Coyotes GM Don Maloney to look for a shooting winger for Mike Ribeiro this summer.

– Sheldon Souray is the forgotten Anaheim Ducks defenceman. He’s missed the whole season with two wrist surgeries. He has a year left on his contract at $3.6 million, but you wonder whether he can play again. Right now, there’s a logjam of blueliners in Anaheim.

The Edmonton Oilers’ high-end prospect, who was captain of the Soo Greyhounds, is joining the cavalcade of players with the Oilers’ OKCity farm team. His OHL junior team was swept four …

]]>Darnell Nurse isn’t hanging up his gear quite yet.

The Edmonton Oilers’ high-end prospect, who was captain of the Soo Greyhounds, is joining the cavalcade of players with the Oilers’ OKCity farm team. His OHL junior team was swept four straight by the Kris Knoblauch coached Erie Otters in the playoffs–that’s phenom Connor McDavid’s team.

As Jordan Eberle did twice when he was playing junior with the Regina Pats, reporting to Springfield after his junior season ended u(23 points in 20 league games), Nurse will take the next step with the Oilers American League affiliate. Whether he plays or not, is up in the air with the season winding down and the Barons in a playoff scramble.

The Barons only have eight defenceman–Taylor Fedun, Denis Grebeshkov, Brad Hunt, David Musil, Brandon Davidson, Martin Gernat, recent college free-agent signee Jordan Oesterle and ex Prince Albert Raiders junior Graeme Craig, signed to an AHL deal for next season–so there’s room for Nurse. But, have to weigh winning games against throwing a kid into the fire.

The Barons are seventh in the Western Conference of the AHL (77 points), one point clear of Rochester. Rockford and Charlotte have 75 points.

The farm squad has five games left. They’re in Abbotsford to play the Flames farm team Friday and Sunday. Then they’re at home to play Texas Stars (Dallas) and finish with two games against Iowa (Minnesota), The regular-season ends April 19.

Oesterle played two games last weekend against Charlotte, but he completed three years of college at Western Michigan. They didn’t mind throwing in the puck-mover. But Nurse is only 19.

Nurse, the seventh pick in last June’s draft, had a strong camp last fall. In regular-season, he had 50 points (13 goals) in 64 games in the Soo. In their nine playoff games, he had eight points (three goals). The abrasive 6’4″, 185-pound defenceman also had 103 total PIMs, regular-season and playoffs.

Is the youngster, who reminds some of a young Jason Smith, with more offensive upside, ready for the NHL?

That’s up in the air with two other kids Oscar Klefbom and Martin Marincin expected to be regulars on defence next season. Nurse is eligible to play another season in junior, starting next fall.

When the Oilers’ season ends April 12, they’re expected to send back Klefbom, centre Anton Lander and winger Tyler Pitlick which will further swell their roster.

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2014/04/09/nurse-is-taking-his-skills-to-okc-with-junior-season-over/feed/0Darnell NursenhlbymattyBen Scrivens a revelation in net for Los Angeles Kingshttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/12/02/ben-scrivens-a-revelation-in-net-for-los-angeles-kings/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/12/02/ben-scrivens-a-revelation-in-net-for-los-angeles-kings/#commentsMon, 02 Dec 2013 08:00:50 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=186344When Dallas Eakins was coaching the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies, he said loquacious goalie Ben Scrivens would come into his office to chat and, eventually, the coach would be grabbing him by the arm and saying, “You have to …]]>When Dallas Eakins was coaching the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies, he said loquacious goalie Ben Scrivens would come into his office to chat and, eventually, the coach would be grabbing him by the arm and saying, “You have to leave now. We’re done.”

Now, Scrivens, who grew up in Spruce Grove, is the talk of the NHL. He’s saving the Los Angeles Kings’ bacon with Jonathan Quick out until Christmas with a serious groin problem.

Scrivens lost his first game in regulation in nine starts on Saturday when he lost an edge and fell on a short-handed goal and then the Calgary Flames’ Mike Cammalleri was left alone in the last 25 seconds to tuck the puck in, but stuff happens.

He was supposed to be a caddy for Quick, playing every fourth game or so. But he’s got a 1.52 goals-against average and .944 save percentage and he’s playing every night, with two Shakespearean quotes on his mask — one from MacBeth, the other from King Lear. Both are famous kings in literature, of course, and Scrivens has a painted quill on top of his head gear for an added touch..

The eclectic goalie can’t keep up with all the media calls for his time, which eats into his current reading — a physics book, The Elegant Universe: Hidden Strings, Hidden Dimensions and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene and The Self-Illusion: How the Social Brain Creates Identity by Bruce Hood.

He has also read Ken Dryden’s wonderful book, The Game, too, because the goalie (along with fellow Hall of Famer Joe Nieuwendyk) is the most illustrious hockey alumnus of Cornell University, where Scrivens went to school.

Scrivens’ interests lay outside the 200-foot by 85-foot hockey arena.

“I liked how Dryden spent his time away from hockey,” said Scrivens, who was part of the secret Quill and Dagger Society (founded in 1893 at Cornell), which also has six former Pulitzer Prize winners as members.

He won’t say how he joined or whether he was recruited. Meetings are closed to the public.

“I’d be excommunicated if I told you anything,” Scrivens said with a laugh.

He’s not the only hockey player in the society. So are Matt Moulson and Colin Greening, if you’re wondering.

Scrivens’ nickname is the Professor because he went to an Ivy League school, but he says he never ached to go there as a kid from Spruce Grove.

“That was the other side of the moon,” he said.

He’s light years removed from the Alberta Junior Hockey League, where his parents bought his way out of the Calgary Canucks in 2005 because there was a crowded goalie situation there and an opening on the hometown team.

He’s also come a long way from Cornell, where he somehow scored an entrance to the school. He’d never considered a U.S. school, never thought of playing pro.

“I scammed the system,” he said with a chuckle. “They were the first school to offer a scholarship. It was a no-brainer, hockey and great academics.”

His roommate at Cornell was former Oilers head coach Ralph Krueger’s son, Justin, who was playing on the Carolina Hurricanes’ farm team until going to Bern, Switzerland, this winter.

Krueger got Scrivens into Francois Allaire’s hockey school.

“Ralph had Jonas Hiller and David Aebischer and Martin Gerber on the Swiss national team and they’d all worked with Frankie. Ralph knew Frankie and he got me to one of his camps in the summer, just 16 guys. Most of them were NHL guys,” said Scrivens. “I was the only college goalie. I’m forever indebted to Ralph. He stuck his neck out for me.”

As fate would have it, Scrivens later had Allaire as the goalie coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs before Allaire left for the Colorado Avalanche.

While at Cornell, the Leafs were the first team to offer Scrivens a contract. He didn’t dicker, just as he didn’t wait around when Cornell called.

Asked if he always takes the first offer, like when he’s buying a vehicle, Scrivens said with a chuckle: “No, I look around when it’s a car.”

Scrivens has current Oilers associate coach Keith Acton living in a downtown Edmonton condo his dad owns.

“I played with Woody’s son, Will, with the Marlies and I always kid that this is my inheritance,” said Scrivens.

These are truly the best of times for the 27-year-old, who has ex-Oilers goalie Billy Ranford as his coach in L.A. He was only four years old when Ranford won the Stanley Cup and was named the Conn Smythe playoff MVP in 1990, but he knows the legend, he knows about the two-pad stack saves, which almost nobody does any longer but were Ranford’s calling card once upon a time.

He’s on a very good team with the Kings and he’s The Man for now, until Quick returns.

“He’s won a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe and he’s a phenomenal athlete. It’s pretty easy to see where I stand,” said Scrivens, who has been a revelation because the Kings brought veteran Mathieu Garon to training camp in the fall.

Los Angeles was not completely sold on Scrivens, who seemed an add-on to the Matt Frattin for Jonathan Bernier trade in June.

“Solid goalie, not a lot of flash, just gets the job done,” said Eakins. “He was unproven in Toronto, so there were question marks. He’s still relatively early in his NHL career, but he’s having great success now.

“Selfishly, I wish he was doing it in the east, but he’s a guy I’m very proud of. I’m proud of where he’s at. He’s a good person, extremely intelligent kid and, as I said, he loves to talk.”

“Dallas? Can’t say enough good things about him as a coach and as a person, lives his life the right way with his family and his players,” said Scrivens.

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/12/02/ben-scrivens-a-revelation-in-net-for-los-angeles-kings/feed/0Ben ScrivensnhlbymattyThis ‘n’ that: Steady play can earn Calgary Flames netminder Reto Berra fulltime NHL jobhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/11/24/this-n-that-steady-play-can-earn-calgary-flames-netminder-reto-berra-fulltime-nhl-job/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/11/24/this-n-that-steady-play-can-earn-calgary-flames-netminder-reto-berra-fulltime-nhl-job/#commentsMon, 25 Nov 2013 03:30:36 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=185628- Calgary Flames goalie Reto Berra is athletic that phenomenal two-pack stack save against Jack Johnson on Wednesday was Bill Ranford circa 1990 quality. “Looked like something from Cirque de Soleil,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley. But in today’s game, …]]>- Calgary Flames goalie Reto Berra is athletic that phenomenal two-pack stack save against Jack Johnson on Wednesday was Bill Ranford circa 1990 quality. “Looked like something from Cirque de Soleil,” said Flames coach Bob Hartley. But in today’s game, you have to be quieter in the net. If Berra, on a one-year contract, can do that, he can be an everyday NHL starter.

– When Richard Bachman (groin) gets healthy, he’ll be back in net on the farm in Oklahoma City, and I’ll bet the Edmonton Oilers will be looking for another American Hockey League team on which to deposit veteran Jason LaBarbera. The Oilers need either young Tyler Bunz or the recently acquired Laurent Brossoit to be playing some AHL games. One of them will be in Bakersfield (ECHL).

– How about Logan Couture on left-wing alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry on Canada’s Olympic team? That would be a handful for any opposing team in Sochi.

– Teemu Selanne’s new restaurant, Selanne Steak Tavern in tony Laguna Beach, Calif., just 30 minutes from Anaheim, offers a $96 Lord Stanley 32 ounce cut of beef on its menu. Selanne, who is retiring at season’s end, will stay in California because his kids love living there. He’s not moving back to Finland.

– It’s about time Nashville Predators assistant GM Paul Fenton got a head GM job somewhere, like with the Buffalo Sabres. For some reason, he keeps getting bypassed. He was running the draft when they took Ryan Suter and Shea Weber the same year.

– Paul Maurice, waiting for an NHL job to open up — head coach or associate — is living in Columbus these days, and flying to the TSN studio in Toronto for their hockey panel every so often. That so happens to be where coach Todd Richards is on the hot seat with the struggling Blue Jackets.

– I’m sure Ryan Whitney doesn’t have any dollar worries, but if he wants to play hockey next year, Europe will be his best option. He’s making his $900,000 in AHL San Antonio now. I keep coming back to that major ankle tendon surgery in 2011. His mobility and first three steps up ice haven’t been the same since.

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/11/24/this-n-that-steady-play-can-earn-calgary-flames-netminder-reto-berra-fulltime-nhl-job/feed/0Reto BerranhlbymattyEdmonton Oilers GM says Corey Potter might get picked up by another teamhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/30/mactavish-says-corey-potter-might-get-picked-up-by-another-team/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/30/mactavish-says-corey-potter-might-get-picked-up-by-another-team/#commentsThu, 31 Oct 2013 00:38:33 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=182608Denis Grebeshkov will almost surely be playing for the Oklahoma City Barons this weekend against the AHL Chicago Wolves.

The Russian defenceman, signed by the Edmonton Oilers in the off-season, is making $1.5 million, and in the tight salary cap …

]]>Denis Grebeshkov will almost surely be playing for the Oklahoma City Barons this weekend against the AHL Chicago Wolves.

The Russian defenceman, signed by the Edmonton Oilers in the off-season, is making $1.5 million, and in the tight salary cap world, teams are making fiscal decisions more than ever.

But Corey Potter’s a different story.

“He may not clear waivers,” Oilers GM Craig MacTavish said Wednesday.

Because of his cheaper salary? He makes $775,000 salary, half that of Grebeshkov?

“Exactly,” said MacTavish.

“They’re the same, they both missed training camp or most of it,” said MacTavish.

“Denis hasn’t played in the NHL for a few years. The speed of the game is different (NHL to KHL) and his speed isn’t where it needs to be, He had the groin injury in camp. He has to go there and play. How long that takes him, to get to where he’s capable of playing, I don’t know.”

Potter, in his third year with the Oilers, injured his back before camp started. If nobody wants him – -former Oilers’ coach Tom Renney, now Mike Babcock’s associate in Detroit, was Potter’s biggest booster — he’ll need work on Todd Nelson’s team, too.

Potter can fire the puck and would be a good second-unit power play guy. And his price is right.

“Corey had the bad back, missed all of pre-season, and he’s got to go down, play some games and show the coach what he’s got,” said MacTavish.

***

MacTavish said Ryan Smyth (groin) is a little ways away. He might not play again until the road trip which starts in Florida next Tuesday. Winger Jesse Joensuu (ribs or back) isn’t ready either. “Probably at the end of the next trip.”

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/30/mactavish-says-corey-potter-might-get-picked-up-by-another-team/feed/0Corey PotternhlbymattyWHL Morning Skate: Sorry, Warriors — Maple Leafs keep defenceman Morgan Riellyhttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/24/whl-morning-skate-sorry-warriors-maple-leafs-keep-defenceman-morgan-rielly/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/24/whl-morning-skate-sorry-warriors-maple-leafs-keep-defenceman-morgan-rielly/#commentsThu, 24 Oct 2013 18:56:31 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=181894They could’ve sent him back to junior, but Morgan Rielly has shown enough in the NHL ranks that the Toronto Maple Leafs will keep him on the roster.

The 19-year-old, drafted fifth overall in 2012 by the Maple Leafs, could’ve …

]]>They could’ve sent him back to junior, but Morgan Rielly has shown enough in the NHL ranks that the Toronto Maple Leafs will keep him on the roster.

The 19-year-old, drafted fifth overall in 2012 by the Maple Leafs, could’ve been returned to the Western Hockey League’s Moose jaw Warriors as to not use up a year of pro eligibility. A junior-eligible player is allowed to play up to nine games without his NHL team burning a year of his entry-level contract. Rielly will play his ninth game on Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Leafs closely watch the progression of the West Vancouver, B.C., native, who has four points in eight Leafs games.

“We’re not guaranteeing that the player’s going to be here for the rest of the year, because the 10-game barrier is gone,” Carlyle said Thursday morning. “The option of him going to the American Hockey League is not available to us, so he’s either going to play with us or go to junior where some other players you have the option of sending them to the American Hockey League.

“We see his game developing and we think he can play in the National Hockey League right now. But he is 19 years old. The games are going to get tougher, they’re going to get bigger and he’s going to be exposed to more of the higher skill level of the league.”

The Warriors (5-7-3) could’ve used Rielly in the lineup to help spur their fortunes. The losers of Wednesday night’s WHL game to the visiting Edmonton Oil Kings sit 10th in the 12-team Eastern Conference and have lost seven of their last eight games.

Their pop-gun offence can take some of the blame — the Warriors rank near the bottom of the 22-team circuit in goals scored, with 37 in 15 games — and no doubt could’ve used Rielly’s point-per-game potential (he had 54 points in 60 games last season) not to mention his skill, talent and everything else he would bring to the locker-room, bench and ice as a top-flight, star junior prospect.

In Thursday night’s only WHL game, the Warriors host the Lethbridge Hurricanes (2-11-1), who come into Moose Jaw having suffered a 3-2 loss to the visiting Portland Winterhawks on Tuesday night for their second loss in a row. The ‘Canes sit in last place in the Eastern Conference.

Winterhawks goaltender Brendan Burke made 40 saves, while Marek Langhamer allowed four goals on 34 shots in net for the Tigers.

—

Prince Albert Raiders 3 Regina Pats 1

At Regina, Prince Albert broke a 1-1 tie with a pair of goals in the third period.

Jayden Hart and Josh Morrissey each scored in the third, while Dylan Busenius also had a single for the Raiders (8-5-1).

Boston Leier scored the lone goal for the Pats (7-6-0).

Nick McBride was spectacular in net for the Raiders with 42 saves, while Mac Engel was less effective for Regina with 17 saves.

—

WHL schedule Friday, Oct. 25

Portland

at

Kootenay

7 p.m.

Saskatoon

at

Red Deer

7 p.m.

Edmonton

at

Regina

7 p.m.

Calgary

at

Prince George

8 p.m.

Brandon

at

Spokane

8:05 p.m.

Seattle

at

Tri-City

8:05 p.m.

Kelowna

at

Victoria

8:05 p.m.

Everett

at

Vancouver

8:30 p.m.

]]>http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/24/whl-morning-skate-sorry-warriors-maple-leafs-keep-defenceman-morgan-rielly/feed/0Edmonton Oilers v Toronto Maple LeafscellingsonThis ‘n’ that: Rexall Place v2.0? Not so fast. New Edmonton Oilers arena could sport Rogers namehttp://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/07/this-n-that-rexall-place-v2-0-not-so-fast-new-edmonton-oilers-arena-could-sport-rogers-name/
http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/2013/10/07/this-n-that-rexall-place-v2-0-not-so-fast-new-edmonton-oilers-arena-could-sport-rogers-name/#commentsMon, 07 Oct 2013 09:30:39 +0000http://blogs.edmontonjournal.com/?p=180445- I know the Edmonton Oilers say they have lots of irons in the fire about a name for the new rink, but I’d be shocked if it’s not named Rogers Centre or Rogers Palace with all the money Rogers …]]>- I know the Edmonton Oilers say they have lots of irons in the fire about a name for the new rink, but I’d be shocked if it’s not named Rogers Centre or Rogers Palace with all the money Rogers Communications just laid on the Oilers for promotional stuff. I also hear the company might like a sports talk radio station in Edmonton.

– How good is the Anaheim Ducks’ 20-year-old goalie John Gibson, who is a candidate to play for the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey squad in Sochi, Russia? “He’s Grant Fuhr,” said former Ducks goalie coach Pete Peeters. Gilbson played for the U.S. at the world championship this past spring. He’s currently playing with Norfolk in the American Hockey League.

– Teemu Selanne’s farewell tour might not bring him to every NHL arena. He took Saturday off at Minnesota, but played Sunday in Winnipeg, where the 43-year-old’s NHL career started. It looks as though he’s been told he can’t play in back-to-back games. The Ducks’ first visit to Edmonton this season is in April.

– The Washington Capitals gave up 18-year-old first-round forward Filip Forsberg to Nashville to get winger Martin Erat with Brooks Laich (groin) injured last season, but Erat is on the fourth line with a salary-cap hit of $4.5 million the next two years.

– Ex-Oilers forward Magnus Paajarvi wasn’t helped when Brenden Morrow signed with the St. Louis Blues. Paajarvi has been a healthy scratch twice. Jaden Schwartz took his third-line spot.

– Jari Kurri will be the general manager of Helsinki Jokerit when the club enters the Kontinental Hockey League next season. The Edmonton Oilers’ great is currently general manager of Finland’s Olympic team for Sochi.

– Tyler Benson, who helped Edmonton’s South Side Athletic Club to the Western Canadian bantam AAA title last spring and then was the first pick in the Western Hockey League’s bantam draft, is playing midget in Kelowna, B.C., at the Pursuit of Excellence Academy. Sources say Benson would have been one of Giants head coach Don Hay’s top six forwards this year, but 15 year-olds can play only five WHL games.

– The Buffalo Sabres have a captain at home (Thomas Vanek) and one on the road (Steve Ott), which makes little sense. “I think it’s weird,” said former Sabre Jason Pominville, now a member of the Minnesota Wild. Both Vanek and Ott are unrestricted free agents next summer.

– Danny Briere wants to be known as Daniel now that he’s playing for the Montreal Canadiens. He thought Daniel sounded too much like Danielle in the U.S. (with Buffalo and Philadelphia). He’s also got an accent grave over the e in Briere on his Habs’ nameplate.